Have him the Expos on 60% on aileron and 30% on elevator (you want very little travel around neutral, with much more travel at the limits), put the battery towards the front of the slot and just practice flying it around in big circles up high first (circling right and left), to get the feel for it, then ovalize the circles so they are eventually straight, turn, straight, turn at a constant altitude.

Once constant altitude can be maintained, bring the altitude down. once a comfort level is achieved, then the flying can begin. Pratice stunts on the simulator so you know what to expect, and always try them high, before bringing them down.

As confidence builds, move the battery back in the slot... but only in the calm. If there is wind, move the battery forward.

I hated the original Sukhoi, but I love the XP... I think one of these days I'll bust out my Original Sukoi, put a Mustang motor/prop on it, add a gram to the tail and see if I still hate it.

I agree with UNGN, expo is where it is at on very maneuverable planes. I might even up the elevator to 40 or 50% at the start. Make sure he is flying over grass and above all, if he feels he is losing control, cut the power to the motor before it hits the ground. That can save a lot of damage from being done simply by following those two steps.

Where would one find the Intellec batteries (are you sure it's not "Intellect?")

Sorry! BryanEW710 here are the generic hyperion 160mah lipos with the Intellect stickers on them.
You can get a twin pack of the same generic factory lipos as hyperion use but with the Intellect stickers on for £7.75p over here..http://www.kingslynnmodelshop.co.uk/...duct_info.html

Im not sure if you can get the generic Intellect factory lipos over in the us but you can in the uk.

I agree with UNGN, expo is where it is at on very maneuverable planes. I might even up the elevator to 40 or 50% at the start. Make sure he is flying over grass and above all, if he feels he is losing control, cut the power to the motor before it hits the ground. That can save a lot of damage from being done simply by following those two steps.

I agree on the elevator expo. I had mine too low at first (around 25%) and found that I was inadvertently using elevator on my rolls. I bumped it to 40% and the problem (problem being my stubborn fingers) is resolved.

DoomsDay - you in Charlotte, NC? I live just south of Charlotte in Fort Mill, SC but I spend WAY too much time in and out of Charlotte Douglas Airport!

I agree on the elevator expo. I had mine too low at first (around 25%) and found that I was inadvertently using elevator on my rolls. I bumped it to 40% and the problem (problem being my stubborn fingers) is resolved.

DoomsDay - you in Charlotte, NC? I live just south of Charlotte in Fort Mill, SC but I spend WAY too much time in and out of Charlotte Douglas Airport!

Contrary to what Richos says, you don't have to gouge out anything to use the Hyp 180 or 240 cells. A small block of foam is all you need. Plus, they can be charged @ 5c for 300-400 cycles with zero loss in performance. If you can solder - you can buy bare Hyp 180 or 240 cells for $4 USD each & the connector w/wires for around $1.50 each, and then make your own lightweight cells. They'll be a couple of grams lighter than Hyperion's shrink-wrapped 'M' cells.

When it come to performance, voltage under load is the only thing that matters with LiPo cells. Advertised capacity has very little to do with it. Internal resistance is what determines the true discharge & charge c-ratings. A lower internal resistance means there is less voltage-drop within the cell. This reduces the power lost within the cell as heat, which increases the voltage under load. Lower internal resistance also increases the safe discharge & charge current, due to the lower cell temp.

A key indicator of true LiPo ratings is charge c-rating. A number of LiPo manufacturers inflate or blatantly lie about their discharge c-ratings. However, due to liability issues with fires, they will not inflate their charge c-ratings. Any true 25c or 35c modern LiPo cell should be able to be safely charged @ 5c without loss of performance. If the manufacturer advertises a discharge rating of 25c, 30c, or 35c, yet specifies a max charge of only 1c or 2c - beware! They are most likely hiding something.

I have yet to see any discharge comparison graphs of the new MA 190 25c vs. the Hyp 180 25c. However, Natterjack tested the MA 180 15c & the Hyp 180 25c, and MA has a graph of the MA 190 25c vs. the MA 180 15c. Looking at Natterjack's graph, it is evident that the Hyp 180 outperforms the MA 180 by a significant margin. Of course, one would expect this, since the MA 180 is only rated @ 15c. Looking at the MA's graph of their 180 15c & 190 25c, one can see that the MA 190 outperforms the MA 180. Since MA didn't specify the discharge current used for their tests, it's not easy to do a direct comparison.

That said - going by MA's data, the MA 190's voltage under load @ the 450 second mark is about the same or just barely higher than the Intellect 160 (just under 3.5V). Looking at Natterjack's data, one can see that the Hyp 180's voltage at the 450 second mark is 3.6V. The MA 180 is sitting just above 3.5V, while the Hyp 160 is only a couple hundredths of a volt below the Hyp 180 at that point.

If MA's test was done at or below 1.6A, the Hyp 180 will hold voltage under load a bit better than the MA 190. If so, a lightweight Hyp 180 will likely be the better performer, but the difference in power would be maybe 5%, at most. What needs to be seen is whether the MA cells can deliver the long cycle-life of the Hyp cells. Richos - do you happen to know the discharge current in MA's test?

BTW - I have a couple of MA 180s. In the Sukhoi, they had noticeably less power than my Hyp 160s, and they're considerably heavier. So, I use them in lower-current apps, such as the UM J-3 Cub. They're about two years old. I have over 100 cycles on each of them, and they still perform as well as they did after break-in. But they live an easy life in my stock J-3 at our winter indoor sessions.

Great info and graphs. Much appreciated. I am still trying to weed through this whole thread before I start asking questions that have already been asked and answered several times. I installed a GWS 5043 and an RCFunlabs prop saver on my 8 day old xp this morning. I hate switching props on these micros using needle nose or hemostats to grip the shaft. So this morning I came up with an easy way. I took a 2mm allen wrench and slipped the short end through one of the holes in the gear. That made removing the stock prop and installing the prop saver much easier for me. Probably not an original idea but it worked well. Hope this little tip helps someone. Oh and the GWS 5043 kicks butt on this little bird.

Thanks for every1s in put and help
My 190mah packs arrived this morning.... :P
and today whilst stopped to feed the little one. i took the 26 up for a blast! altho it was crazy windy it was nice to hit full throttle and fly arrow straight where ever i pointed it!
mainden the sukhoi over a tank monument for the desert rats in Thetford forest
cant wait for a nice calm day now.

iv read up on a gws prop conversion done quite a while ago and wondered what peoples thoughts were now? are there any better props out there? or is gws the way to go?
cheers for all the help
chris

Thanks for every1s in put and help
My 190mah packs arrived this morning.... :P
and today whilst stopped to feed the little one. i took the 26 up for a blast! altho it was crazy windy it was nice to hit full throttle and fly arrow straight where ever i pointed it!
mainden the sukhoi over a tank monument for the desert rats in Thetford forest
cant wait for a nice calm day now.

iv read up on a gws prop conversion done quite a while ago and wondered what peoples thoughts were now? are there any better props out there? or is gws the way to go?
cheers for all the help
chris

Chris,

Congrats on the maiden! The GWs 5043 is currently the best prop for outdoor flying. With the 5043 & a top-notch cell, the XP is capable of essentially unlimited vertical even 5 minutes into the flight.

i bought them for my msr when it was chewing through the servo gears, also used them on my champ when i got a bit of glue on the rudder gears some how, they are the exact same gears i just went and checked on my sukhoi. though, the 2 bucks is a bit much since you gotta pay shipping, id suggest buying a few packs to make it a little more worth your while.